Saturday, March 03, 2007

Acceptances and Rejections

It's hard to generalize, but it seems to me that most of the news regarding applications have come in during the last three weeks and will continue to come in over the next two. This is significantly earlier than just three years ago.Anyways, readers have posted two very helpful links, listing news about acceptances etc.:

If anyone has anymore, please post them in the comments section. Or, if you'd like to simply comment on the application etc. process, specifically or generally, go for it. I hope everyone receives some good news in one way or the other.

27 comments:

I was accepted into the Iowa Writers' Workshop (Fiction). I didn't get a phone call, but I did receive letters from both the grad college and the Workshop (dated 2/23). I called to verify that it was true (I HAD to) and it was. Is that normal? I keep seeing posts saying that most people got phone calls.

I haven't heard from any of the other schools yet. I also applied to UMASS, Houston, Texas, Virginia and Michigan.

I'm wary of what those people have posted in their blogs. I don't understand how the one person received phone calls about acceptances, especially from Columbia; Columbia's website clearly states that they will only notify by mail. I just got my first acceptance to University of Maryland yesterday, and I'm waiting on eleven other schools, some of which have already responded to the people in those blogs. Should I be worried? Why am I hearing so late?

In response to Laryssa's concerns: I simply post acceptances as people post them, either in the comments section on my site or on other sites (such as P&W Speakeasy MFA section). Take the posts with a grain of salt. I'm not sure why someone would want to lie about hearing, but people can be weird and I'm sure it happens (I like to think that would be the exception and not the rule). The posts are mostly just so others can see the general nature of responses and approximate response times.

I just received an email from a very nice gentleman at San Jose State (because I didn't tell them what I wanted my secondary genre to be--whoops). He said they will be trying to let people know by the beginning of April. I've also gathered from a couple people in school now that some schools will send out a first wave of acceptances, then a second, and so on...Basically, I've been told not to worry. It seems as though many programs don't exactly send all of their acceptances out on the same day, so I'm trying not to worry that so many other people have heard from UNCW, for instance. I figure I've got a shot until I hear otherwise.

I don't understand how the one person received phone calls about acceptances, especially from Columbia; Columbia's website clearly states that they will only notify by mail.

Can't say I know off hand what Columbia's website says, but I was notified by phone when I was accepted last year and everyone I know at Columbia was accepted by phone. Maybe they only meant that rejections couldn't be checked online?

Yes---U Oregon also explicitly states that it will alert students of admission status by "mail only," but they called all of the acceptees, anyway. I think some MFA programs post such statements to discourage phone calls from anxious students.

Also, I'm sure most people know it, but the Poets & Writers Speakeasy is a great resource for tracking admissions.

Finally, yes, thanks so much Tom for helping me (and many others) refine my search for the right program and navigate the copious red tape of the applications process. I'm so looking forward to starting my program this fall, and not having to pay for it is icing on the cake. Or maybe the funding is the cake and the program is the icing. I don't know, but one of them is definitely cake.

I can confirm that Montana made its decisions on March 9th. (The director sent out her annual, "who can help out with the new folks?" e-mail to us current MFA'ers). So applicants should be hearing right about now.

i'm trying to decide between the creative writing PhD programs at utah, usc and houston. any ideas? also, is denver a good school? haven't heard from them yet, but judging from hearsay, it's a good program and i'm not sure if i should wait to make my decision. thanks for any advice.

Accepted to Bowling Green (fiction) 3/19 notified by phone.Rejected by University of Maryland 3/10(ish) I'm 26 years old and they sent the letter to my parents' house. Then my father left me a message telling me I didn't get in. It was almost as awesome as reading the rejection letter with my own eyes.

I got accepted into UMichigan February 23rd-ish, rejected from Syracuse March 10th-ish, never got a letter or anything from Iowa but checked online and found out I'd been rejected March 17th. STILL haven't heard back from UCIrvine. Has everybody else heard back from Irvine?

I'm trying to choose between the PhD programs at USC, Utah, and U Missouri Columbia. I'd appreciate it if you could let me know anything about your decision making process. Please email me at bulleyah@hotmail.com or leave a message on my blogger profile.

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Recommended Links

MFA Handbook

The Creative Writing MFA Handbook: A Guide for Prospective Students, by Tom Kealey (with essays by Seth Abramson, Erika Dreifus, Adam Johnson, and Ed Schwarzschild) is available from Continuum Publishing. The Handbook offers an overview of the graduate writing experience, profiles and rankings of more than fifty creative writing programs, advice about the application process, and insight into making the best choice of programs. There is a comprehensive list of all graduate writing programs, both in and outside the United States, a list of helpful sources on and off-line, and interviews with teachers and students, including George Saunders, Aimee Bender, Geoffrey Wolff, and Tracy K. Smith.